


Somewhere There's A Place Where We Begin

by JosieBlossom



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, McMantle, Minor Character Death, it's not great but i needed to write something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 04:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14072496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JosieBlossom/pseuds/JosieBlossom
Summary: Josie receives some devastating news. She runs to the first person she thinks of.





	Somewhere There's A Place Where We Begin

**Author's Note:**

> Something that just popped into my head. Enjoy. Comments/kudos are appreciated.

Reggie pulled up to his driveway, in the rain, when he saw Josie standing there. Practice had run super late, so she could have been waiting a while. This was unexpected. They'd become increasingly familiar with each others homes (and bedrooms), since they'd started hooking up. However, seeing Josie there had just caught him off guard because she'd been absent from school. Reggie sent her texts but she hadn't replied. He figured she was busy. They weren't serious enough for him to be worried about her (but he totally had been). What stood out to him was the way she looked. Josie was shivering, holding a thin piece of fabric above her head. The rain had completely soaked through it. Reggie locked the car and ran up to her.

 

“What happened?” he asked, shrugging off his Letterman jacket and placing it above her. He was fairly confident something had gone down. She wouldn’t be allowing her hair get wet, if it hadn’t.

 

She lowered her arms. Now that Reggie was up close, he could see the tears running down her face. He was so focused on her, he didn’t even notice how hard the rain was hitting him.

 

“He...he’s dead.” Josie sobbed, as the last word came out.

 

Was it someone he knew? Reggie froze, before asking, “Who’s dead, Jo?”

 

“My dad.”

 

Reggie held her close to him and thought of his own father. Hopefully, she would be too distracted to notice his sigh of relief. He didn’t know what to say, but he knew outside (in the pouring rain) wasn’t the place to do it. He guided Josie over to the door and ushered her inside.

 

Reggie usually had a smart answer for any scenario he was thrown into, but this was a first for him. He lived life fast and loose, without a great deal of thinking in between. It was no secret. Maybe he didn't _have_ to say anything. Perhaps comfort would be enough.

 

* * *

 

Josie just sat in the kitchen, looking into the distance. He went to the bathroom and got her the fluffiest towel.

 

“Earth to Josie.”

 

Her eyes flickered in recognition and Reggie framed her face with his hands. Riverdale had a lot of beautiful girls but she was definitely his favorite. On any given day, she'd pretend not to be interested or go toe to toe with him, and it would make him uncontrollably aroused. Reggie loved spending time with her. He thought about making her some tea. His mother always said it was the best cure for bad news. Reggie wasn’t totally convinced, he didn’t really drink the stuff.

 

“I still can’t believe it," she said, quietly.

 

Reggie said nothing.

 

“I feel so guilty.”

 

His curiosity had bested him. “Why?”

 

“I don’t feel anything, Reggie. If it was my mom, I’d be..." she wrapped the towel, tighter, around herself. "This doesn’t hurt like it should. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.” Josie looked at the floor.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Jo. You can’t blame yourself for the way he made you feel. It doesn't change just because he's gone. Are you hungry?" Reggie didn't mind ordering pizza for the lady.

 

"No, I'm fine."

 

"So what do you need, right now?”

 

“I...”

 

“Whatever you want.”

 

“Make me feel something. Please, Reggie...”

 

He placed a kiss on the back of her hand, she didn't even flinch. Then he turned it over and pressed his lips against her palm. Again, no reaction. “Anything?”

 

She shook her head. Reggie had an idea. He went over to the freezer and removed a few cubes of ice. He placed them in her hands. She closed her eyes in relief. At least, he wasn’t completely useless. He could shake off the airhead status, occasionally. Her face changed and became softer. Now, she was starting to look more like the Josie he knew.

 

“Better?”

 

She nodded, eyes still closed. He could physically see the relief wash over her.

 

“You want me to drive you back home?” He asked, checking his watch.

 

She shook her head. “I need more time.”

 

Reggie nodded. He was pleased with her answer. Well, Josie had great timing. His parents wouldn't be back until Monday. He liked having her around, even when she was going through something. However, she was also the step-daughter of the Sheriff. This was the home stretch of their senior year and he didn't need anything jeopardizing his scholarship. Like Josie, he was taking the first opportunity to get out of this place. She was in no state to call anybody. So Reggie initially thought about sending a text to her mom, as Josie but that might cause even more complications. He decided on the next best option: Kevin. He was sensible and Reggie trusted him, immensely. So he sent the first text.

 

_Kev, Josie is at my place. Don't let the parental units send out a search party. She's not ready to go home, tonight._

 

_Thank god. Everyone was so worried! Promise to take care of her?_

 

_I swear._

 

_Okay. I'll pick her up, tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll take care of dad and Sierra._

 

_Thanks, nerd._

 

_...And I thought we had finally made a breakthrough._

 

Reggie smiled, as he dropped his phone on the kitchen counter.

 

* * *

 

Josie started crying, again. (He wasn't totally sure she'd even stopped, in the first place.) He removed the shards of partially melted ice from her hands. She threw her arms around his waist, once more. Josie said something, but her words were muffled by his abs.

 

"Huh?"

 

"It was an overdose."

 

That was rough. From what she had told Reggie, he'd been clean before the divorce. Reggie swooped Josie into his hands.

 

"Where are we going?" she asked, a small smile graced her face.

 

"It's a surprise." Reggie carried her up the stairs, holding her like she was the most valuable thing in the world. When they reached his room, he lay her down, gently, on the bed. "I'll get you something to wear." The heat had dried her clothes, a little, but the last thing she needed was to get sick. There was also an added bonus of seeing her in his clothes. Next to sex and football, it was his favorite thing in the world. Despite his meandering ways, Josie was the only one to ever spend the night. That had been deliberate, on his part.

 

As they both changed to go to bed, Josie looked at him. "How did you know the ice thing would work?"

 

He was momentarily distracted by the sight of her in one of his old jerseys. "Before I was born, my mom used to volunteer at a rehabilitation center. One day, she was putting ice on my leg, after practice. She told me a story of how therapists used to suggested holding ice as a substitute for self harm."

 

She nodded and smiled at him. Her second smile in a matter of minutes. You noticed stuff like that, when you were hooking up with someone. It made him feel better. Seeing someone you cared about going through pain hurt. Not as much as Josie, herself, was feeling right now but enough to cause discomfort.

 

The pair lay on Reggie's bed. The scent of lavender emerged from his sheets. Josie's hair smelled like coconut. Reggie never got tired of it. He was the big spoon to her little spoon. They fit together, perfectly. His arms were wrapped around her small waist. Josie took out her phone and his Bluetooth speakers started playing music.

 

"This him?" he asked, holding her tighter. He watched the back of her head as she nodded. It was ironic that Miles McCoy had given Josie a hard time for her music. He'd prefer to listen to Josie (with or without The Pussycats), a million times over, before listening to this crap even once. This was probably her idea of a tribute, so he'd tolerate it.

 

"He's the one playing the sax. Reggie?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"I'm going to miss you, when we graduate."

 

He wasn't looking forward to it, either. "What makes you think it's gonna be that easy to get rid of me, McCoy? I'll be in Cali. You'll be in Cali."

 

"More like you'll be distracted by all those California girls. There's a reason Katy Perry made a song about them."

 

"Not as long as you're around. Turn over for a second, Jo." He placed his palm on her back, as he looked into her brown eyes. "We're eighteen, already. Everything will be way more serious, when we leave. Studies, football (for me), music (for you)..."

 

"What's your point?"

 

Reggie cleared his throat. This had been on his mind for a while. No time like the present. "We should think about being serious. If you want."

 

"This isn't a pity thing, is it?"

 

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her incredulously. "Okay, I have given pity fucks, guilty as charged. But I _never_ pity boyfriend."

 

"Just checking. I'll think about it, Mantle," she said, turning back around. He saw her cheeks broaden, indicating she was smiling. " _I'd like that_ ," she whispered.

 

He'd been so proud of himself, that he almost missed it. Reggie pressed another kiss tot he back of her neck, in response. "You know, I've never done this before. The whole comforting someone after a death. Did I do okay?"

 

"You did great, Reg."

 

The pair lay, together, in the dark with Miles McCoy's music filling their comfortable silence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
